Skip to main content
Leavey School of Business Santa Clara University
Department ofInformation Systems and Analytics

Smith, Stephen A.

Stephen A. Smith

Emeritus, Information Systems & Analytics

Stephen A. Smith is Professor Emeritus of Information Systems & Analytics (ISA) in the Leavey School of Business.  During his almost forty years with Santa Clara University, Professor Smith’s teaching focused on operations management and computer modeling classes for MBA and Undergraduate students in the Leavey School of Business. He also developed and taught courses in Environmental Economics and Sustainable Operations Management.  He has received the University Award for Sustained Excellence in Scholarship, and the Leavey School Deans’ Award for Outstanding Scholarship.  He served as Chair of the Department, and was chosen as a Faculty Senate Professor. 

Professor Smith's research focuses on applying analytics to decision problems in pricing, retail supply chain management, and management of digital advertising.  He is the author of more than sixty research publications, which have appeared in a variety of journals including Management Science, Operations Research, Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Marketing Research, Econometrica, and Journal of Economic Theory. He is co-editor of a volume on electric power pricing and is co-author of the book Retail Supply Chain Management, which is now in its second edition.  He served as a Senior Editor of Manufacturing and Service Operations Management and on the editorial boards of Operations Research, Management Science, and Industrial Engineering Transactions.

Professor Smith received a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University, and holds BS and MS degrees in applied mathematics.  Previously, he was a Research Scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, and a Principal at Pricing Strategy Associates.  He has consulted for a variety of retailers including Target, The Gap, and Levi Strauss, and has served as a technical advisor to software companies developing decision support systems for retailers.